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Conservative Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol is lashing out at Karl Rove and his American Crossroads super PAC for using last year's attacks in Benghazi to attack former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 presidential race.

During a Fox News panel segment on Sunday, Kristol complained that there had been a "partisan reaction" to both the attacks in Benghazi and the news that the Internal Revenue Service had targeted tea party groups to find out if they had violated their tax exempt status.

Kristol pointed to a web video released by American Crossroads last week that attacked Clinton for allegedly participating in a Benghazi "cover up."

"I do not like the conservative Republican groups putting ads up about Hillary Clinton," he said. "What is the point of that? That is just fundraising by American Crossroads and these other groups. It's ridiculous! There's no campaign going on!"

"Let's pull the partisanship back. It's a genuine outrage what happened in Benghazi, it's a genuine outrage what the IRS did... So I wish the Republicans would just be quiet for while -- I mean, the partisan Republican groups that are fundraising off this -- would be quiet on both issues for a while, and let's find out what really happened."

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The hosts of Fox & Friends on Monday lashed out at 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft because he failed to devote a significant part of his Sunday interview with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to "follow up" on the suggestion that the secretary may have not told the truth about a concussion that delayed her testimony on Benghazi.

In December, Fox News regulars like former Florida Rep. Allen West and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton -- along with numerous other network hosts and personalities -- mocked Clinton by suggesting that had conspired to fake a “diplomatic illness” or “Benghazi allergy” to avoid going before lawmakers.

"If you give somebody 30 minutes [for an interview], you could get real news -- especially Steve Kroft, who is usually awesome," co-host Brian Kilmeade opined on Monday. "But I think for some reason, they just didn't dig in to anything at all. For one thing, I would like to know, did she pass out and hit her head? Was she pushed? How did she hit her head and get a concussion?"

"She said -- quote -- 'I still have some lingering effects from falling on my head,'" co-host Steve Doocy noted. "That's all she said! And there was no follow up!"

"Okay, she was injured, she had a concussion," co-host Gretchen Carlson pointed out, attempting to inject some reality into the conversation.

"That's a question I have!" Kilmeade exclaimed.

"How did you follow on your head?" Doocy insisted.

"She passed out, I think was the story," Carlson continued. "For me, this was more of -- the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the two of them together was, Barack Obama is going to endorse Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. That's why they were doing this interview together, I think."

"Then Joe Biden just passed out on his head, he's going to be seeing double soon," Kilmeade quipped as Doocy simulated Biden's imagined accident by placing his head on the studio desk.

"Bonk!" Doocy said.

(h/t: Media Matters)

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Fox News host Greta Van Susteren on Sunday offered a defense of conservatives on her network who suggested that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could have been faking a concussion in order to delay testimony on attacks in Benghazi, saying that the conspiracy theories were put forth "before she was hospitalized" with a blood clot.

In December, Republicans like former Florida Rep. Allen West and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton — and numerous other Fox News personalities — had repeatedly mocked Clinton by suggesting that her illness was a manufactured “diplomatic illness” or “Benghazi allergy” to avoid testifying before lawmakers.

After the Daily Beast published an article which incorrectly said that Van Susteren was also peddling conspiracy theories about Clinton, the Fox News host took to her blog to demand that the website "CORRECT THIS PRONTO — and do so in a BIG WAY."

"Of course I will accept an apology but I’m more interested in the TRUTH getting out and that I did not make this crack about the Secretary of State," she wrote, stopping short of also calling on conservatives to apologize to Clinton.

On Sunday, ABC News host George Stephanopolous offered Van Susteren another chance to appeal for a retraction from West, Bolton, Laura Ingraham and others.

"I'm responsible for what I say, number one," Van Susteren explained. "Those were all very dated, before she was hospitalized. And there was not much information coming out of the State Department and very early on with those quotes."

"Look, not for one second did I doubt it," she added. "Once these people heard that she was seriously ill, that all changed. The secretary of state will have to -- should answer questions about Benghazi. There's a lot of mystery... I have nothing beyond to say to that."

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Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) says that the Republicans who hyped a conspiracy theory that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faked her concussion to avoid testifying about September attacks in Benghazi were the "same people who said that the moon landing was staged in a Hollywood set."

MSNBC host Richard Lui on Monday asked Israel if he had heard anything new about Clinton's health after it was reported that she was hospitalized because a blood clot was discovered during an exam to follow up on her recent concussion.

"I've not heard anything new about her health," Israel replied, adding that Clinton was "as tough as nails... she is strong, she is resilient."

Lui pointed out that Republicans like Rep. Allen West (FL) and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton -- as well as numerous Fox News personalities -- had repeatedly mocked Clinton by suggesting that her illness was a manufactured "diplomatic illness" or "Benghazi allergy" to avoid testifying before lawmakers.

"That's what's wrong with Washington, the people who invent conspiracies behind every cloud," Israel explained. "These are the same people who said that the moon landing was staged in a Hollywood set."

"Let this woman rest, let her get well and give her some space," he suggested. "Stop creating a conspiracy behind every cloud."

(h/t: Mediaite)

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Anyone remember the talking heads over at Fox showing the same outrage over drunken Dick Cheney shooting his hunting buddy in the face? Didn't think so. Fox proves once again that they can find a reason to crank up the feigned outrage machine over almost anything as long as you're a Democrat.

From Think Progress -- Fox News Guest Attacks Hillary: It’s As If She Was Auditioning For ‘The Jersey Shore’:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is having quite a month. After a photo of her spawned its own internet sensation, new images from a nightlife hotspot in Colombia that show Clinton sipping on a beer and dancing have ignited a fresh wave of gossipy commentary.

The New York Post ran one photo on its front page under the banner headline “Swillary,” apparently upset that she imbibes the same liquid as much of the rest of humanity.

But perhaps the best reaction to the shocking news that Hillary Clinton can have a good time goes to Nile Gardiner from the Heritage Foundation, who appeared on the Fox News show Your World with Neil Cavuto to attack Clinton for “embarrassing” herself:

Hillary Clinton is a public servant, she’s out to serve the American people, to advance U.S. interests. And I think that conducting herself in this way, as a senior U.S. official on the world stage, doesn’t advance American interests in any way. In fact its downright embarrassing. It’s as though she’s auditioning for the sixth series of Jersey Shore rather than representing America on the world stage as the Secretary of State.

As Adam noted, they did bring in GOP strategist Dee Dee Benkie who defended Clinton and said she ought to be allowed to have a few beers after work and unwind if she wanted to. Uncle Rupert just gave us a taste of the kind of stupidity we'd be in for if Clinton would change her mind and ever run for president.